{"id":52013,"date":"2025-07-01T14:12:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T14:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=52013"},"modified":"2025-07-01T14:12:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T14:12:10","slug":"hes-still-got-that-fire-billy-slater-reveals-why-josh-papalii-deserved-one-last-origin-swan-song","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=52013","title":{"rendered":"\u201cHe\u2019s Still Got That Fire\u201d \u2013 Billy Slater Reveals Why Josh Papali\u2019i Deserved One Last Origin Swan Song&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"d79db4796efc26332eabfc3f5dafbc76\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<div class=\"hb-ad-inarticle\">\r\n    <div class=\"hb-ad-inner\"> \r\n    <div class=\"hbagency_cls\"  id=\"hbagency_space_111930\"><\/div><\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s Still Got That Fire\u201d \u2013 Billy Slater Reveals Why Josh Papali\u2019i Deserved One Last Origin Swan Song&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cHe\u2019s Still Got That Fire\u201d \u2013 Billy Slater Reveals Why Josh Papali\u2019i Deserved One Last Origin Swan Song<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Maroons coach Billy Slater has shed light on his heartfelt decision to recall veteran prop Josh Papali\u2019i for one final State of Origin appearance, praising the Canberra enforcer&#8217;s relentless passion and leadership. \u201cHe\u2019s still got that fire,\u201d Slater said. \u201cJosh might not be in the spotlight like he used to be, but his hunger, presence, and pride in the Queensland jersey haven\u2019t faded one bit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Slater explained that Papali\u2019i\u2019s inclusion wasn\u2019t just sentimental \u2014 it was strategic. \u201cWe\u2019re building for the future, but culture matters. Having someone like Josh in camp reminds the younger boys what it truly means to represent Queensland,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Papali\u2019i, who previously stepped away from representative duties, answered the call without hesitation. Slater lauded the veteran&#8217;s impact during training and his quiet guidance behind the scenes. \u201cYou can\u2019t teach what Josh brings \u2014 experience, composure, and that big-game toughness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With Queensland eyeing another Origin series win, Slater believes Papali\u2019i\u2019s swan song will be a fitting farewell. \u201cHe\u2019s earned it, and more importantly, he still delivers. This is more than a goodbye \u2014 it\u2019s a celebration of a warrior.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cHe\u2019s Still Got That Fire\u201d \u2013 Billy Slater Reveals Why Josh Papali\u2019i Deserved One Last Origin Swan Song&#8230; &nbsp; \u201cHe\u2019s Still Got That Fire\u201d \u2013 Billy Slater Reveals Why Josh Papali\u2019i Deserved One Last Origin Swan Song Maroons coach Billy Slater has shed light on his heartfelt decision to recall veteran prop Josh Papali\u2019i for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":52014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[701],"class_list":["post-52013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-canberra-raiders"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u201cHe\u2019s Still Got That Fire\u201d \u2013 Billy Slater Reveals Why Josh Papali\u2019i Deserved One Last Origin Swan Song...<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cHe\u2019s Still Got That Fire\u201d \u2013 Billy Slater Reveals Why Josh Papali\u2019i Deserved One Last Origin Swan Song...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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